English Language Learners Stack Exchange
English Language Learners Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [semi-modals]

Questions related to verbs that share some of the features of the principal modal verbs, e.g. ought, had better, dare and need.

67 questions
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I used to study at Cambridge School

I used to study at Cambridge School. I am used to studying at Cambridge School. If the verb is continuous tense, it need to be added "verb to be" before used to?
user74633
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Questions about use(d) to go

Which one is correct, or are all the sentences correct? 3rd sentence made me confuse. 1- I didn't use to go swimming a lot. 2- I used not to go swimming a lot. 3- I didn't used to go swimming a lot.
I don't know who I am.
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Is there an insinuation after 'had better'?

You’d better bloody well tell them you’ll need to discuss it with me first. (The Casual Vacancy, by J. K. Rowling) Whenever I saw a bare-infinitive follow close behind ‘had better,’ I thought ‘had better’-plus-verb is a loaf of meaning bread.…
Listenever
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Can lexical need be used for epistemic meaning?

[i] He needn’t have told her. [epistemic or deontic] [ii] He might have killed her. [epistemic or dynamic] In [i] the perfect is internal in the epistemic reading (“It isn’t necessarily the case that he told her”), external in the deontic (“He…
Listenever
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The meaning of "couldn't have been"

When "could" is used as a modal meaning "possibility in the past", what does its negative form, i.e. "couldn't have done", mean? Is it means something is impossible or something is possibly not true? For example, " I couldn't have been more than six…
April
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Does adding 'don't' make the sentence more intense in 'don't dare'?

If I say... I don't dare call her a muttonhead Vs. I daren't call her a muttonhead. Does putting 'don't' emphasize more on my daring (of calling her that) as compared to a simple version 'daren't?'
Maulik V
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Modal 'need' vs Regular 'need'

I read https://english.stackexchange.com/q/103230/50720 and understand the grammatical differences, but their usage still confuses me. Answerer Cereberus writes: It is slightly old fashioned. Except in negative sentences and questions, I don't…
user8712
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Modals in the past

My question is only about THE PAST. Could (in the past)- we use it to state a fact or talk about an ability. He couldn't hear us. I couldn't swim when I was a kid. Am I right? Do we also use could in different situations? Could have (in the past)-…
train bee 282
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General possibility personal experience can/could/may/might

Would a native BrE speaker use "may/might/could/can" when talking about both personal experience and general possibility in these examples? "Earthquakes can/could/may/might be frequent/dangerous. (Generally) "Earthquakes can/could/might (not…
Antonia A
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Could not or wasn't able to

This exercise is from Raymond Murphy's "English Grammar in Use". It's about the use of "could have done." "Read this information about Ken: Ken didn't do anything on Saturday evening. Ken doesn't know anything about machines. Ken was free on Monday…
Antonia A
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Didn't do and could have done

I am trying to understand the grammar of the first sentence. Only the first sentence is correct but I don't understand why the other sentences are not. "If he didn't say "Hello", he couldn't have seen you". "If he didn't say "Hello", he couldn't…
Antonia A
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Is this a typo? Defoe's Robinson Crusoe

You can see on google books that Defoe's Robinson Crusoe has these two sentences depending on the issue of the book. Which one is correct in your opinion? 1 And it is scarce credible what inexpressible labor everything was done with, especially the…
user1425
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The hybrid usage of DARE

1 How do you dare talk to him? (modal) 2 How do you dare to talk to him. (lexical) The difference is clear. However, there are blended uses like 3 She dares not say a word. 4 I dare you kiss that girl. As far as I know 3 and 4 are grammatically…
user1425
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Correct use of still

In the following sentence I think still is incorrectly used. He has a bad cold and sore throat. He may still get flu. I think it should be he may have got flu
Kshitij Singh
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Can "to" in "need to" be omitted?

I have usually seen sentences written with need to, for example: All you need to do is call me for help. However, I came across a sentence like below in a published book. In this case, we only need consider X, Y, and Z. Is it okay to omit the…
Masked Man
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